


A Page in a Book

by Badgermole



Series: Colors [16]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Autism, Books, Bookstores, Colors, Gen, Nonverbal Communication, Violet - Freeform, dad!logan, kid!virgil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:02:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21537976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Badgermole/pseuds/Badgermole
Summary: Logan and Virgil finally get some father-son time together, at a bookstore of course!(Just read it, Nike Swoosh!)
Series: Colors [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1184909
Comments: 13
Kudos: 244





	A Page in a Book

**Author's Note:**

> I have unconsciously made these last handful relatively long, we'll see how long that stays.

Ever since he started his relationship with Patton, the whole situation with Dee coming back, and now owning a cat, Logan just didn’t have any time to himself. Of course, by “himself” he meant a lazy day with just him and Virgil. Spending time with Virgil was like being alone, and not in some sort of rude way. Logan loved his son dearly. Being around people just meant that he had to be “on”, that was everyone but Virgil. 

The pair could sit silently in a room together for the entire day; each in their own little world. There wasn’t silence that pricked at your skin. It was a silence that draped across your shoulders like a warm blanket. There wasn’t any tension as someone tries to think of a topic, sitting there gulping like a fish. It was calm, the only fidgeting was Virgil’s occasional stims or Logan’s mindless twirling of the spoon in his tea.

Yesterday Logan had finished his book which called for a trip to the local bookstore. The owner was… a rather eccentric man to put it lightly. But the shop was a dusty old shop filled to the brim with hidden gems. It was tucked away out of sight like a speakeasy for books. The lack of people made it a perfect place. Both Logan and Purple could wander around undisturbed, not needing to worry about some stranger causing a scene because a young kid was by himself.

Virgil was normally pretty excited to go to the bookstore, so Logan was surprised when his son started to put up a fight about it. Logan was reasonably regular with when he finished books and he had been sure to give Virgil numerous reminders throughout the day. He had been fine. 

But now that it was time to head out, Virgil was refusing to leave. 

“It’s time to go to the bookstore.” Logan tried again.

Virgil flicked his eyes.  _ No. _

“I can’t leave you home alone.” Logan countered. “If we don’t leave soon I’ll have to go back to work.”

Virgil flopped over onto the papers he was drawing on, careful to avoid his crayons. Squoosh poked her head up from her curled position on the foot of Virgil’s bed. She leapt off toward Virgil, but ended up landing on the carpet quite far behind him. She rolled a bit before bouncing up onto her paws and trotting over to her little owner as if nothing had happened. 

Logan sighed as Squoosh gently nibbled on Virgil’s fingertips. Virgil quickly curled his fingers and rolled over onto his back. Squoosh took that as an invitation to hop up and make herself comfortable.

“Well I guess I’ll just take Squoosh with me instead.” Logan shrugged as he watched the two interact. 

Virgil bolted upright, just barely able to trap Squoosh in his arms before she flung off. She let out a startled meow but started purring once Virgil pet her small head. “Squoosh.” Virgil scrunched his face and turned away from his father.

Logan chuckled. It really was amazing to him how quickly Virgil and Squoosh had bonded. He did feel a bit guilty that he had never thought about getting a pet. He had had a goldfish for a bit when he was very young, and the handful of friends he had didn’t have any pets either. Even as Patton would swoon over the dogs that came to the park, it never crossed his mind to add a creature to his family. He never really thought of adding a boyfriend either but that was turning out wonderfully. 

Virgil gently rocked back and forth hugging Squoosh. Logan realized that they really hadn’t been separated since she got here. The recent playdates with Roman had been at their house. Virgil hadn’t shadowed Roman at school recently. It had been either raining or too cold to visit the park. Patton and he had a date night out once, but Dee stayed to babysit. Logan had never been aware at how much Virgil stayed home. 

“Not too tight,” Logan absently reminded.

He wished that Squoosh was an official service animal. Not even for the training, but so that Virgil could take her with him. The teacher wasn’t familiar with cats, but he figured that you didn’t just attach a leash onto one. Logan couldn’t imagine the small black kitten with a leash attached to its small purple collar. But it was small right now and she had shown numerous times that it loved to curl up in the hood and pouches of sweatshirts. 

He doubted that the bookstore owner would mind Squoosh, the Sanders bunch could be considered regulars. Yet also the kitten was young, what would happen if it ran off? He sighed and massaged his forehead. He and Patton would figure something out.

“Maybe we can find some books on cats there.” Logan offered. He might be trying to bribe his son, but it would be good to actually have some information on the animal. 

Although Virgil agreed to go to the bookstore, it was still like pulling teeth to actually get out the door. The boy had tried to take Squoosh with him multiple times. First he was openly carrying the kitten. The next try the kitten was hidden in his sweatshirt’s pouch. Another hidden in Purple’s hood. The closest he got was hiding Squoosh in his small backpack. Squoosh ended up giving herself away by meowing about being alone in the small dark space. 

Virgil realized that upsetting Squoosh wasn’t something he ever wanted to do and finally folded to leaving the kitten home. He placed her in the ‘Cat Corner’ where Patton had revealed all of his hidden cat supplies. Logan wasn’t sure if he was surprised or not when Patton had pulled the large box out. There was one last hug and “Squoosh” before Blue and Purple headed out to their car. 

Logan closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose. He loved the smell of bookstores, especially this one. There was the musty smell of yellowing fragile books but it was peppered with fresh new books. The faint smell of coffee weaved through the bookcases from the backroom. The sign on the door read ‘Employees Only’ but it was always propped open for anyone to enjoy. The shop was filled to the brim with books, overflowing from shelves and stacks upon stacks littered the floor. Logan faintly wondered if it would be claustrophobic for people who didn’t like books.

Virgil was gone by the time Logan opened his eyes. Logan gave a small nod in greeting toward the cashier, the only employee in the store. The face looked familiar, but they had never engaged in any small talk so Logan had no idea what their name was. 

Logan began to mill around the front of the store listening as Virgil worked his way down whatever aisle he had chosen. 

_ Thump. Thump. Thump. _

Virgil very rarely ever picked a book to take home. Instead he spent his time in the shop turning books around to the pages faced the aisle. After reaching the end of the shelf he would turn around. Virgil’s fingers would drag from one book to another; softcover, paper, softcover, hardcover, paper, hardcover. New paper, old paper. Smooth edges, doggy-eared edges.

Virgil’s purple beanie popped out of the end of the aisle and quickly ducked down another. Logan smiled and headed toward Virgil’s first row. Logan wasn’t one to make anyone’s life harder so he would go down the row and flip all the books back right way round. As he grabbed each book from the shelf, he would glance at the cover, title, and author. If it peaked his interest, Logan would stand and read the synopsis. 

He never knew what he was going to get. Most of the time Logan enjoyed it. He had definitely picked up a plethora of books he would never have thought about getting. But Virgil had also wandered into some… unfortunate genres. Logan was forever grateful that no one else was in the store as he rearranged the books on pregnancy and women’s health. He was quite fine walking out empty handed that day. And if he was super cuddly and attached to Patton when he got home, who could say what caused it.

Logan was engrossed in the first chapter of a book about octopus when he realized someone else was in the store.

“You shouldn’t be doing that,” an old woman’s voice came over the bookshelves. 

The thump of books paused for a few seconds before continuing. 

“Excuse me,” Logan could hear annoyance creep into her voice. He could picture as the old woman reached out toward Virgil. The teacher finally started to move, tossing the book back on the shelf. Logan started poking his head down each aisle, he hadn’t realized he had gotten so far behind Virgil. The bookstore was still quiet but Logan was bracing himself.

By the time Logan found the right aisle, he was breathing heavy from a mix of panic and adrenaline. Virgil was running his hand over the turned books in front of him. The row was only halfway finished. The elderly woman was standing on the opposite side of Virgil away from Logan. 

“Hello, my name is Purple. I am nonverbal and autistic. Do not touch me.” The woman flipped the card over, noting Purple’s real name in smaller print on the front. “If it is an emergency, please contact one of the following…” 

Logan backpedaled and ducked into the previous row. He was close enough to listen to it all play out but far enough to give Virgil space to handle the situation on his own. Logan tried to take a few deep breaths to get his heart back to normal. 

The adrenaline was slowly fading away and being replaced with pride. Virgil usually forgot about his cards or more accurately about the purpose of the cards. Yes, he would always have them on him in a pocket or his backpack, but he rarely ever pulled them out. Logan decided to start working through these books as he eavesdropped on the conversation. 

The woman bent down slightly to put the laminated card back onto the shelf with the turned around books. Once she was upright, Virgil snatched the card and pointed to a section off to the side that hadn’t been read out.

<What’s your favorite color?>

The woman gave a smile. “Well, I’ll let you in on a secret. Okay?”

Virgil didn’t respond, his eyes glued to his card, but the woman seemed undeterred. “My name is a color.”

Virgil flicked his eyes up at that. She was crouching down slightly and Virgil let his eyes fall onto her shoulder. He gave a few tugs on his beanie before tapping the question again.

“My name is Violet.” Virgil mouthed the word and let out a happy hum. 

“Purple.” Virgil whispered and his free hand drummed its fingers against his chest.

Each silent second that followed felt like weight being added to Logan’s shoulders. The statement of being non-verbal and then vocalizing tended to anger people, like they were being duped by a kid. Logan anxiously drummed his fingers against the book he didn’t know he was holding.

“It’s very nice to meet you Purple,” Logan sighed in relief as the Violet’s voice was still soft. “But you can’t be going around flipping all these books.” 

Virgil frowned. He slid the card back into his sweatshirt and started down the row again.

_ Thump. Thump. _

“Purple, darling, why are you flipping the books around?” Violet tried instead. 

Virgil stopped, letting his fingers linger on the pages. He turned his head. Violet was surprised to see the confusion across the boy’s face. Violet repeated her question in case Virgil hadn’t understood but the confusion stayed.

Virgil walked back toward the woman, hand dragging behind him. Once he was next to her, he snaked his arm up his sleeve. When Violet didn’t immediately take it, Virgil shook his shoulders so the sleeve would bump into her.

Confusion was now on her face, but she hesitantly grabbed the empty cuff. Seeing as the boy didn’t freak out but also didn’t do anything, Violet asked a third time. 

"Why are you flipping the books around?"

Virgil blew a raspberry. Violet really wasn’t sure what that meant but soon enough the beanie clad boy reached his free hand up and started running his fingers back and forth across the books. 

It took a few seconds but Violet hesitantly joined in. It was very strange, Violet would admit, but it seemed to fit perfectly with the strange boy. Virgil started humming happily and started back toward the untouched books. He had to finish the row before Blue caught up.

After a few minutes of constant thumps and no sounds from the woman, Logan returned back to the row with the octopus book. 

Logan followed the trail of flipped books to find Virgil sitting on the floor with a cat picture book open on his lap. The father tucked his octopus book under his arm as he crouched down.

“Squoosh!” Virgil squealed happily at the black cat in the book.

“It does look like Squoosh.” Logan agreed. “Do you want to take that book home?”

Virgil flicked his eyes toward Logan’s shirt pocket and shoved the book into his father's outstretched hands. Both stood up and Virgil gave his empty sleeve to Logan’s empty hand. Logan smiled as they navigated back to the front of the store. 

“I’m proud of you for talking with that lady.” Logan mentioned as he grabbed his receipt from the cashier. Virgil stood on this tip-toes to grab his cat book from the counter.

“Blue.” Virgil mumbled. He hugged the book against his chest.

“You’re welcome.” Logan smiled. “I was thinking that it deserved some ice cream, hm?”

Virgil responded by shuffling closer, nearly leaning on Logan’s leg as they walked toward the car. The closest thing to a hug they could get at the moment.

“Don’t let me forget that we’ll need to get something for Blue.” Logan chuckled.  _ Ice cream was bad, unless you were getting it for everyone. _

“Blue.” 


End file.
